From the Top

From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley celebrates the stories, talents, and character of America s best young classically-trained musicians and the power of classical music through broadcasts, live events, education programs, and more.﻿﻿﻿

Ways to Connect

12/3 From the Pioneer Center in Reno, Nevada, we feature a local 17-year-old violinist performing Beethoven, a 16-year-old marimba player from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and the dynamic teenage quartet from Chicago Quartet Bellezza, performing Bartok. Quartet Bellezza were the Junior Division Gold Medal Winner in the 2017 Fischoff Competition. Formed in the fall of 2016, the group consists of violinists Masha Lakisova and Robert Sanders, violist Peter Dudek, and cellist David Caplan.

11/5 Marin Alsop and 120 of America’s best and brightest young musicians that have been brought together to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. They’ll perform Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine Mahler: Movement 2 from Symphony No. 1, Titan Frank: Tone Poem for Orchestra.

9/3 From Honolulu, Hawaii we’ll feature the excellent Hawaii Youth Symphony Orchestra performing a piece inspired by vintage popular music from the islands. We’ll also hear the 13-year-old junior winner of the prestigious Menuhin International Violin Competition performing music of Prokofiev, and a 15-year-old clarinetist who got his start in the visionary free urban music training programs of Los Angeles.

5/7 From the Top returns to the Aspen Music Festival and School, the summer home to many outstanding young musicians seeking to sharpen their performance skills, with a fantastic 17-year-old cellist who loves to explore the Rocky Mountain surroundings and a 14-year-old pianist performing Ligeti.

5/14 This week’s episode of From the Top showcases Cleveland’s vibrant classical music scene with performances from a violinist, bassoonist, and string octet all from the area.

4/2 From Louisville, Kentucky, we’ll hear a superb 17-year-old pianist from Brooklyn who wants to devote himself to the work of racially diversifying the world of classical music, a performance of Over the Rainbow performed on marimba by a local teen percussionist, and the Louisville Youth Orchestra perform a brand new piece by American composer Christopher Theofanidis.